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Photo: Tourism Tasmania and ChrisCrerar Cover image to be inserted here. Links to ISC website to be inserted in final pdf. The Tasmania Project Wellbeing Survey Report for the Premier's Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Council Report for the Premier’s Economic and Social March 2021 Recovery Advisory Council The Tasmania Project Wellbeing Survey March 2021 | Institute for Social Change
Report information Prepared for the Premier’s Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Council, Tasmania Lead Researcher: Professor Libby Lester, Director, Institute for Social Change Research Team: Dr Rebecca Banham, Ella Horton, Nyree Pisanu, Ariel Remund, Ruth Steel, Professor Natalie Stoeckl, Georgia Sutton, and Professor Bruce Tranter Survey Acknowledgements Thank you to the many organisations, agencies and individuals who generously provided their time to support this research, most notably TasCOSS, Colony 47 and Neighbourhood/Community Houses, and to the more than 3000 Tasmanian residents who participated in the survey and interviews. The work was funded by the Tasmanian Department of Treasury and Finance, the Department of Communities and the University of Tasmania. Thank you to Quin Welsford-Brink, Michael Helman and the volunteer and student interviewers: Alex Burton, Vesife Hatisaru, Ruvini Buddhika Jayasekara, Hannah Shaw, Phuong Thao Linh Nguyen and Tamar Campbell. Creative Commons Licence Contact Institute for Social Change College of Arts, Law and Education Private Bag 44 University of Tasmania Hobart TAS 7001 thetasmaniaproject@utas.edu.au Image caption and Photo: Name Surname Suggested Citation The recommended citation for this report is: Lester, L. et al. (2021) Report for the Premier's Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Committee: The Tasmania Project Wellbeing Survey, Institute for Social Change, University of Tasmania, Hobart.
Contents Introduction ..................................................................................... 4 Tasmania’s regions......................................................................... 7 The indicators ................................................................................. 8 Health ............................................................................................. 20 Life satisfaction .............................................................................. 24 Environment ................................................................................... 28 Community ..................................................................................... 33 Income ............................................................................................. 37 Work-life balance ........................................................................... 40 Safety ............................................................................................. 43 Housing .......................................................................................... 46 Jobs ................................................................................................ 49 Civic engagement .......................................................................... 55 Education ....................................................................................... 61 Appendices..................................................................................... 66 Indicator descriptors .................................................................................. 67 Survey demographics ............................................................................... 68 Contact list ................................................................................................. 71 . The full report with additional appendices is available from the Institute for Social Change. 3
Image caption and Photo: NameSurname Focused place-based research to support Tasmania’s recovery Photo: Capitano Productions Eye / Shutterstock.com from COVID-19 Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic, which WHO The Tasmania Project declared on 11 March 2020, has interrupted The Tasmania Project was established by the Institute for Social Change at the University of Tasmania in March 2020 on social, economic and cultural life, with that basis that a more focused style of data collection would be escalating rates of infection and death in required to understand the pandemic’s immediate impact on Tasmania. The Institute was also aware that longer-term many parts of the world. Uncertainty questions about future social, economic and cultural policy were continues about the virus’ path, vaccine going to be asked and directions determined given the extent of availability and efficacy, and the full disruption. economic and social impacts of the The Tasmania Project is a University-wide research vehicle pandemic. Tasmania was the first Australian designed in collaboration with partners to support data collection and communication from and with a diverse cross- state to instigate border restrictions, and its section of Tasmanian residents. The project’s aims are to island status and demographics (for support immediate and longer-term social and economic example, lower than average SES, older decisions by providing useful, evidence-based and timely information, and share Tasmanian residents' experiences and average age, poorer health) suggested the ideas through this critical period and beyond. state would experience COVID-19 in a way different from other states, manifesting in Support and resources have been gathered from across the University, with more than 40 researchers providing their specific challenges, needs and concerns expertise (for example, staff from Menzies, Wicking, Education, through the crisis and recovery phase. TIA, Rural Health, International Relations), and in collaboration with organisations across government, the community sector, and business. This required a unique research Through 2020, The Tasmania Project supplied and collected approach to ensure its data and opinions on a range of areas, from food insecurity to meaningfulness to the Tasmanian the creative arts sector, to support decision making in the community and its leaders. Department of State Growth, the State Control Centre and Communities Tasmania, among others. This research and report was commissioned by the secretariat to the Premier’s Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Council to support the Council formulate its final recommendations. The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 4
Method The survey is based on a non-random sample of Tasmanians The research team and the University’s Regional Partnerships aged over 18. More than 3000 individuals entered the survey, team collaborated with the aim of increasing participation in the with a final sample size of 2354 (2308 online, 46 paper, 0 North West, the West Coast, and the East Coast of Tasmania phone). Participants needed to be currently residing in Tasmania, through in-person and email distribution and promotion. over the age of 18, and were required to provide informed Participants were also recruited from the existing The Tasmania consent to participate in the study as per The Tasmania Project’s Project participant database (n=2931) via personalised emails. approved ethics protocol (HREC Project ID 20587). 721 initial participants were omitted from the survey as they did not fulfil the The research team worked with key community organisations criteria for the qualifying questions or had missing data on all such as TasCOSS to connect to Neighbourhood and Community questions. Houses to coordinate survey distribution and face-to-face support for their cohorts. The team offered in-person survey The survey consisted of three parts, and included questions completion support at several sites across the state and worked relating to present and future wellbeing (adapting indicators from with Colony 47 and their Transition to Work program to increase the OECD Better Life Index), Tasmania’s recovery from COVID- participation from those aged 18-25. 19, and demographic information. While the survey was open, the research team regularly checked The survey was open for five weeks from Monday 19 October to participation rates across demographics and compared to Sunday 22 November 2020. The survey was available online Tasmanian census data obtained from the ABS, particularly age (SurveyMonkey), and a telephone number was provided for groups, gender and local government areas, to identify areas of people without internet access or digital devices/skills to contact underrepresentation. It deployed communications or support to us by phone for help to complete the survey. Paper-based address the gaps. surveys were also used to support face-to-face recruitment of a wider range of participants. Quantitative data were analysed The survey was complemented by interviews with people aged using SPSS software and qualitative text box responses were under 30 years. The interview sample was drawn from survey analysed using NVivo software. In this report, we have removed respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 who had consented details from quotes in both surveys and interviews where to be contacted for future research. From this list, approximately respondents could potentially be identified. 160 participants were invited to participate in one-on-one interviews. Following initial contact with potential participants, The survey was advertised widely across a range of channels the final selection of interviewees was based upon those including social media, Tasmania’s three major newspapers, and individuals consenting to participate. In total, 23 interviews were university, government and community sector websites. It was completed. supported by media releases, op-eds and interviews across ABC and commercial radio and television. A range of government, community and industry bodies were contacted with details of the survey (220 community organisations, 15 peak bodies, 23 local A list of who we contacted to support councils/authorities and 9 state government bodies) and asked to recruitment is provided as an appendix. distribute to their members and/or networks and promote via social media and other communications channels. Image caption and Photo: Name Surname The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 5
The Tasmania Project and the Tasmanian population Other survey approaches such as telephone sampling may use The principal aim of the survey and interviews has been to databases of phone numbers for a given population (although provide as many Tasmanian residents as possible with the these are rarely complete and again, sometimes not available), opportunity to share their ideas and opinions with the Premier’s or researchers may employ random digit dialling to landlines and Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Council. As with other mobile phones. However, in recent years telephone surveys data collected through The Tasmania Project, we do not limit have seen markedly declining response rates, most likely caused respondents to a selected demographically representative panel by survey fatigue. as is common within the polling industry. Similar to many other surveys, we find those with certain social The Institute for Social Change’s objective is to strengthen characteristics tend to be more or less likely to respond. In other access to both voice and information, and draws on a range of words, sampling bias is an issue with many surveys, because tested and widely accepted quantitative and qualitative methods certain people (for example, men, younger people, less educated that are appropriate to the questions being asked. Previous people) are less likely to respond. A snapshot of the sample by findings, for example those relating to food insecurity in region and age is shown in Table 1. Tasmania during the pandemic, have been peer reviewed and An approach for improving the representativeness of a sample published in leading international journals, with our methods, involves developing sampling weights to statistically adjust analysis and presentation of findings scrutinised by international sample characteristics to be more representative of the experts. population from which they were drawn. While we do not claim that findings are representative of the Tasmanian population and this report refers to ‘respondents’ and We have weighted the data in some instances in the report in ‘participants’ rather than ‘Tasmanians’, we have, in some order to improve the representativeness of findings. Where we instances, applied a method to weight findings against have weighted data, the weighted estimates are clearly Tasmanian population data available from the Australian Bureau identified. of Statistics. Table 1. Sample sizes for regions x age In practice, comprehensive sampling frames are rarely available for those conducting public surveys. In some cases where such ‘population lists’ are extant, access is often limited and requires special permission. For example, the electoral roll held by the Australian Electoral Commission is essentially a list of Australian voters, but access to the electoral roll is restricted. Even the electoral roll itself is not a completely ‘accurate’ list of all voters at any given time, due to registered voters’ changing address, deaths, interstate or overseas migration. A description of the construction of the weighted variables is included as an appendix in the full report available from the Institute for Social Change. Image caption and Photo: Name Surname The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 6
Tasmania’s regions Results are reported by region as shown on this map. Each region contains the listed Local Government Areas. North West and West Burnie Devonport Central Coast Circular Head Kentish King Island West Coast Latrobe Waratah/Wynyard Regional North Northern Midlands George Town Meander Valley Dorset Break O Day West Tamar Flinders Island Launceston Launceston Greater Hobart Hobart Glenorchy Image caption and Photo: Name Surname Kingborough Clarence Brighton Regional South Huon Valley Sorell Image: Adapted from TASMAP map of Tasmania LGAs Southern Midlands Derwent Valley Tasman Central Highlands Glamorgan Spring Bay The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 7
The research draws on the OECD’s Better Life Index indicators, adapting the brief descriptors for the Tasmania context A comparison with OECD Better Life indicators is included as an appendix. The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 8
Ranking the indicators Respondents were provided with the list of wellbeing indicators and brief descriptors. They were asked to select the top three that were most important for their wellbeing, and their top three areas of concern for the future as Tasmania emerges from the pandemic. Table 2. Important for wellbeing vs. concerns for future: ranked (unweighted) Rank Important for wellbeing Concerns for the future 1 Health (64%) Health (56%) 2 Life satisfaction (42%) Income (37%) 3 Environment (38%) Environment (36%) 4 Community (31%) Jobs (35%) 5 Income (28%) Life satisfaction (32%) 6 Work-life balance (27%) Safety (26%) 7 Safety (24%) Housing (22%) 8 Housing (21%) Community (20%) 9 Jobs (21%) Work-life balance (19%) 10 Civic engagement (10%) Civic engagement (12%) 11 Education (8%) Education (8%) The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 9
Weighting the indicators We developed variable weightings against gender and age from ABS whole-of-Tasmania population data. Ranking of the indicators by important for wellbeing varied little, with income moving from fifth to third in the weighted data, and environment moving from third to fifth. Table 2. Important for wellbeing: unweighted vs. weighted Table 3. Important for wellbeing, unweighted vs weighted Important for wellbeing: Important for wellbeing: Rank Unweighted Weighted 1 Health (64%) Health (64%) 2 Life satisfaction (42%) Life satisfaction (46%) 3 Environment (38%) Income (32%) 4 Community (31%) Community (31%) 5 Income (28%) Environment (30%) 6 Work-life balance (27%) Work-life balance (27%) 7 Safety (24%) Safety (26%) 8 Housing (21%) Housing (23%) 9 Jobs (21%) Jobs (21%) 10 Civic engagement (10%) Civic engagement (10%) 11 Education (8%) Education (8%) The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 10
Weighting the indicators Ranking of the indicators by Concerns for the future varied little after weighting the data against gender and age from ABS whole-of-Tasmania population data, with life satisfaction moving from fifth to third in the weighted data, and environment moving from third to fifth. Housing and safety swapped the sixth and seventh places. Table 2. Important for wellbeing: unweighted vs. weighted Table 4. Concerns for future: unweighted vs weighted Concerns for the future: Concerns for the future: Rank Unweighted Weighted 1 Health (56%) Health (56%) 2 Income (37%) Income (39%) 3 Environment (36%) Life satisfaction (35%) 4 Jobs (35%) Jobs (34%) 5 Life satisfaction (32%) Environment (28%) 6 Safety (26%) Housing (27%) 7 Housing (22%) Safety (26%) 8 Community (20%) Community (20%) 9 Work-life balance (19%) Work-life balance (19%) 10 Civic engagement (12%) Civic engagement (12%) 11 Education (8%) Education (10%) The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 11
Levels of satisfaction We asked respondents to tell us how satisfied they were with each of the indicators pre- COVID compared to 'right now' (when the survey was open). In this table, we compare ranking of indicators by the number of respondents who indicated they were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied. When we weighted data to allow comparison at the population level, the most notable impact was a decline in ranking of satisfaction with Education. Table 5. Satisfaction rankings, pre-COVID vs. current, unweighted vs weighted Unweighted Unweighted Weighted Weighted Very or somewhat Very or somewhat Very or somewhat Very or somewhat Rank satisfied, pre-COVID satisfied, right now satisfied, pre-COVID satisfied, right now 1 Safety (92%) Environment (80%) Safety (90%) Environment (80%) 2 Community (84%) Housing (79%) Community (83%) Housing (76%) 3 Environment (84%) Education (78%) Environment (83%) Safety (74%) 4 Education (84%) Community (75%) Life satisfaction (80%) Community (73%) 5 Housing (83%) Safety (75%) Housing (80%) Life satisfaction (70%) Life satisfaction 6 Life satisfaction (72%) Income (76%) Education (68%) (82%) 7 Income (78%) Health (70%) Education (75%) Health (67%) 8 Health (77%) Income (68%) Health (75%) Income (64%) Work-life balance Work-life balance 9 Jobs (74%) Jobs (73%) (62%) (62%) Civic engagement Civic engagement Civic engagement Civic engagement 10 (72%) (62%) (72%) (60%) Work-life balance Work-life balance 11 Jobs (55%) Jobs (53%) (69%) (70%) The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 12
Jobs Safety Civic Engagement Income Life Satisfaction Community Health Work-Life Balance Education Housing Environment -4% -4% -6% -7% -7% -9% -10% -10% -10% -17% 19% Figure 1. Decrease in satisfaction (%) from pre-COVID-19 to October/November 2020 across indicators (unweighted) Decrease in satisfaction during COVID-19 Satisfaction declined for every measure across all regions and age groups between pre-COVID and October/November 2020 (when the survey was open). The areas with which satisfaction declined the most were jobs, income and civic engagement. Respondents were asked to say what, if anything, has changed or contributed to feeling more or less satisfied compared to before the pandemic. This word cloud shows the most commonly used words in response to this question. The larger the word, the more it appeared. Figure 2. Word cloud of responses to free text satisfaction question The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 13
Importance for under 25s In the following table, we compare the rankings of indicators for important for wellbeing from all respondents (n=2043) to those aged 18-25 (n=227), and compared the unweighted 18-25 aged group responses with weighted data. Table 3. Important for wellbeing: all respondents vs respondents aged 18-25 Table 6. Important for wellbeing: all respondents vs. 18-25, unweighted vs weighted Important for Important for Important for wellbeing: all wellbeing: respondents wellbeing: respondents Rank respondents aged 18-25 aged 18-25 Unweighted Unweighted Weighted 1 Health (64%) Health (49%) Health (53%) 2 Life satisfaction (42%) Life satisfaction (41%) Life satisfaction (43%) 3 Environment (38%) Income (37%) Income (40%) 4 Community (31%) Jobs (35%) Work-life balance (33%) 5 Income (28%) Work-life balance (34%) Housing (32%) 6 Work-life balance (27%) Environment (30%) Jobs (31%) 7 Safety (24%) Housing (29%) Community (27%) 8 Housing (21%) Community (27%) Environment (24%) 9 Jobs (21%) Safety (22%) Safety (18%) 10 Civic engagement (10%) Education (22%) Education (22%) 11 Education (8%) Civic engagement (6%) Civic engagement (7%) The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 14
Concerns for under 25s In this table, we compare the rankings of indicators for concerns for the future from all respondents, to those aged 18-25, and compared the unweighted responses from the 18- 25 year group with weighted data. Table 4. Concerns for the future: all respondents vs respondents aged 18-25 Table 7. Concerns for the future: all respondents vs 18-25, unweighted vs. weighted Concerns for the future: Concerns for the Concerns for the future: all respondents future: respondents respondents aged 18-25 Rank aged 18-25 Unweighted Unweighted Weighted 1 Health (56%) Jobs (64%) Jobs (63%) 2 Income (37%) Income (47%) Income (48%) 3 Environment (36%) Housing (45%) Housing (37%) 4 Jobs (35%) Health (27%) Environment (27%) 5 Life satisfaction (32%) Life satisfaction (26%) Education (26%) 6 Safety (26%) Environment (25%) Health (23%) 7 Housing (22%) Education (22%) Life satisfaction (22%) 8 Community (20%) Safety (18%) Community (18%) 9 Work-life balance (19%) Community (15%) Safety (16%) 10 Civic engagement (12%) Work-life balance (13%) Work-life balance (13%) 11 Education (8%) Civic engagement (8%) Civic engagement (10%) The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 15
If you could recommend one thing... We prompted respondents to complete a text box with the following question: If you could recommend one thing to the Premier’s Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Council to support you and your family's future wellbeing, what would it be? A total of 1592 participants (68%) provided text responses to this question. The responses were categorised according to the indicators. 298 responses (18.7%) addressed multiple indicators and specific aspects of Tasmanian life including transport, the economy and the cost of living, the arts, small business, leadership and government, age and aged care, tourism, and children and young people; these are identified below as 'Other'. Table 5. Text responses per indicator and as a percentage of total responses (in descending order) Table 8. Text box responses against Q.10 Indicator Number of responses % Health 381 23.9 Environment 206 12.9 Jobs 181 11.4 Housing 150 9.4 Community 143 9.0 Income 131 8.2 Education 55 3.5 Work Life Balance 17 1.1 Safety 16 1.0 Life Satisfaction 11 0.7 Civic Engagement 3 0.2 Other 298 18.7 Total 1592 100.0 The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 16
Influencing decisions on Tasmania's future We asked respondents to indicate their level of agreement with: “I have the opportunity to influence decisions on Tasmania’s future”. The following tables present results by region (table 8), age (table 9) and region by age (table 10). Table 4. Concerns for the future: all respondents vs respondents aged 18-25 Table 9. I have the opportunity to influence decisions on Tasmania's future x regions Greater Regional Regional North-West Launceston Total Hobart South North and West Agree 333 59 73 80 116 661 30% 25% 36% 34% 34% 31% Unsure 256 59 53 52 80 500 23% 27% 26% 22% 23% 24% Disagree 509 110 78 103 148 948 47% 48% 38% 44% 43% 45% Total 1098 228 204 235 344 2109 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Table 10. I have the opportunity to influence decisions on Tasmania's future x age 65 years and 18-25 years 26-44 years 45-64 years Total above Agree 72 116 280 169 637 32% 28% 33% 33% 31% Unsure 64 87 184 139 474 29% 21% 21% 27% 24% Disagree 86 215 395 209 905 39% 51% 46% 40% 45% Total 222 418 859 517 2016 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 17
Table 11. I have the opportunity to influence decisions on Tasmania's future x age x regions, percentage (%) 18-25 years 26-44 years 45-64 years 65+ years Total Agree 33 28 33 29 31 Greater Unsure 28 20 20 27 23 Hobart Disagree 39 52 47 44 46 Total 100 100 100 100 100 Agree 18 29 19 31 24 Regional Unsure 18 24 29 26 26 South Disagree 64 47 52 43 50 Total 100 100 100 100 100 Agree 33 26 43 35 36 Unsure 38 28 28 20 27 Launceston Disagree 29 46 29 45 37 Total 100 100 100 100 100 Agree 50 30 34 38 35 Regional Unsure 0 20 19 26 21 North Disagree 50 50 47 36 44 Total 100 100 100 100 100 Agree 33 28 35 36 34 North-West Unsure 33 15 20 30 23 and West Disagree 33 57 45 34 43 Total 100 100 100 100 100 Agree 32 28 33 33 32 Unsure 29 21 21 27 24 Total Disagree 39 51 46 41 45 Total 100 100 100 100 100 The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 18
The indicators Health Life Satisfaction Environment Community Income Work-life balance Safety Housing Jobs All data in the following sections are Civic engagement unweighted unless specified. Education 19
Image caption and Photo: NameSurname Health Photo: Wendy Wei from Pexels Health ranked 1st in importance for wellbeing and 1st in concern for the future; satisfaction with health decreased by 7 percentage points during the pandemic. Importance Participants were asked to specify which of the indicators were most important for their wellbeing and health was the most popular response, with 64% of the sample selecting health (n=2527). This position did not change with weighting. A greater proportion of participants from regional and rural Tasmania prioritised health (Regional North 70%, Regional South 70%, North West and West 68%) compared with Those aged 65 or over from the North urban areas (Greater Hobart 63%, Launceston 52%). West and West were most likely to select health as a concern for the future, Older respondents also prioritised health (≥65 79%, 45-64 65%) compared to younger respondents (26-44 51%, 18-25 while the 18-25 age group from 49%). Females were slightly more likely (65%) than males Regional North were least likely. (63%) to select health. Respondents who were 65 years and above from Greater . Hobart and Regional South were the most likely to prioritise health (83%), while 18-25 year olds from Launceston were Satisfaction least likely (33%). Most respondents (77%) were very or somewhat satisfied with their health before the pandemic (n=2356), but less satisfied Table 12. Respondents who selected health as important for their (70%) with their health currently (n=2270). wellbeing by region and age, percentage (%) Respondents from Regional South (80%) were most satisfied with their health, followed by Greater Hobart and Regional North Greater Regional Launce Regional NW and All (79%), North West and West (74%), and Launceston (71%). Age Hobart South -ston North West regions Regional North were most satisfied with their health currently (72%), followed by Southern Tasmania (Greater Hobart and 18-25 48 73 33 75 61 49 Regional South 71%), North West and West (67%), and Launceston (66%). 26-44 51 43 52 53 56 51 45-64 65 71 51 70 65 65 A larger proportion of 65 years and above were satisfied with their health pre-COVID-19 (84%) and currently (78%), ≥65 83 83 62 76 78 79 compared with 18-25 years (pre-COVID-19 78%, currently 66%), 45-64 years (pre-COVID-19 75%, currently 69%) and 26- All ages 63 70 52 70 68 64 44 years (pre-COVID-19 73%, currently 67%). Minimal differences between gender were evident. The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 20
Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Unsure Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied PRE-COVID 29 48 5 14 4 CURRENTLY 24 46 8 16 6 Figure 3. Pre-COVID-19 (n=2356) and current (n=2270) satisfaction: health, percentage (%). Concerns for the future Qualitative data Health ranked 1st as an area of concern for the future, with The majority of responses relating to health responded to 56% of respondents selecting this indicator (n=2239). Its fears around, and impacts of, COVID-19. Mental health position did not change with weighting. featured heavily as a cause of concern for many respondents who either experienced a decline in their own The highest proportion selecting health as a concern for the mental health or were concerned about the mental health of future were in Regional North (65%) and North West and loved ones and members of their community. West (64%), followed by Regional South (60%). A smaller proportion of urban residents selected health (Greater Respondents frequently reported experiencing anxiety, Hobart 52%, Launceston 48%). depression, uncertainty and loneliness. Not being able to participate in social gatherings, diminished access to Older respondents were much more likely to select health as physical exercise, increased stress and financial/job a concern for the future (≥65 79%, 45-64 59%) than younger insecurity were reasons attributed to a decline in their respondents (26-44 38%, 18-25 27%). Minimal gender mental health. Some respondents also reported that differences were observed. increased stress in response to the pandemic was exacerbating existing mental health conditions including Those aged ≥65 from North West and West were most likely PTSD, agoraphobia, anxiety and depression. to select health (82%), while the 18-25 year age group from Regional North were least likely (0%). Respondents reported feeling concerned for their personal safety or the safety of family and friends if they were to Table 13. Respondents who selected health as an area of become ill with COVID-19. Others expressed a wider concern for their future by region and age, percentage (%) concern for the Tasmanian community and potential ripple- on effects if Tasmania was to have another outbreak. There Greater Regional Launce Regional NW and All was concern that the Tasmanian health system may Age struggle under the weight of an outbreak and that COVID-19 Hobart South -ston North West regions would impair the system. Older participants in particular 18-25 27 46 25 0 22 27 reported feeling concerned about acquiring the virus. 26-44 36 34 40 40 44 38 Some respondents reported an improvement in their physical and mental health, citing an increase in free time to 45-64 57 64 46 64 65 59 focus on eating better, exercising more, and preparing healthy food. While a decrease in work hours was a source ≥65 80 73 71 79 82 79 of concern for many, for some it led to an improvement in their overall sense of wellbeing as they felt they were able to All ages 52 60 48 65 64 56 ‘slow down’. “I feel less safe because I am immunosuppressed and I worry all the time about catching COVID-19. I I cannot do the things I want because of wear a mask whenever I leave the house, I only go to the chemist, doctor and hospital and for very my health physically distanced dog walks. I wear gloves to Most disagreed that they “cannot do the things I want” unwrap anything delivered. I didn’t need to be so because of their health (63%), while 31% agreed and 6% vigilant before.” (Female, 58, North) were unsure (n=2070). The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 21
“My health has improved because I’ve had time to "My mental health took a dive as I am research and consider better options and weight loss recovering” (Male, 45, South) while in lockdown. Forced family time has also helped our collective mental health. Having my husband work from home, while difficult for him, was beneficial for "Simply put, at the time I lost maybe 2 years our children because of the amount of time we all of personal improvements in approx 2 spent together.” (Female, 41, South) months. The mental toll that had on me was unexpected and significant. Hindsight would have had me somewhat more “The pandemic put into stark perspective the ‘relaxed’ about it and I have since re- importance of community engagement and opening of the parks picked up much of that participation and highlighted the importance of lost ground. If there is a second wave ....... health to every other thing in life.” (Male, 56, please bear in mind just how important North) physical activity is for health - definitely limit numbers and proximity ........ but open air "Better support to mental health services" (Non- environments????” (Male, 62, North) binary, 24, North-West) The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 22
“This has been a seriously tough year for mental health, and I’m not sure how safe my job is. My home needs work I’m scared to pay for right now.” (Female, 42, South) Health: Importance for wellbeing Health: Concern for the future Health: Satisfaction pre-COVID-19 Health: Satisfaction now The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 23
Image caption and Photo: NameSurname Photo: Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre Life Satisfaction Life satisfaction ranked 2nd in importance for wellbeing and 5th in concern for the future; life satisfaction decreased by 10 percentage points during the pandemic. Importance Life satisfaction ranked 2nd in importance for wellbeing with 43% of the sample selecting this indicator (n=2527). The ranking did not change with weighting. Northern Tasmanians prioritised life satisfaction (Regional North 47%, North West and West 46%, Launceston 42%) more than Southern Tasmanians (Regional South and Greater Hobart both 42%). More of the oldest respondents prioritised life satisfaction (≥65 50%), compared to other ages (45-64 42%, 18-25 More of our oldest respondents 41%, 26-44 38%). Males were much more likely to select life prioritised life satisfaction, compared to satisfaction as important for their wellbeing (53%) than other ages. females (38%). Respondents who were 65 years and above and from Greater Hobart and Regional North were most likely to select life satisfaction (53%). 18-25 years from Regional Satisfaction North were the least likely (0%). Most (82%) were very or somewhat satisfied with their lives pre- COVID-19 (n=2355) with a decrease of 10 percentage points, to Table 14. Respondents who selected life satisfaction as 72% currently (n=2273). important for their wellbeing by region and age, percentage (%) Regional North (89%) and North West and West (85%) residents were most satisfied with their lives pre-COVID-19 and Greater Regional Launce Regional NW and All Age currently (Regional North 80%, North West and West 76%), Hobart South -ston North West regions followed by Greater Hobart (pre-COVID-19 82%, currently 18-25 40 36 50 0 44 41 71%), Regional South (pre-COVID-19 78%, currently 72%) and Launceston (pre-COVID-19 76%, currently 69%). 26-44 36 41 38 43 44 38 Older participants were more satisfied with their lives pre- 45-64 40 39 44 46 45 42 COVID-19 (≥65 89%, 45-64 84%), and currently (≥65 83%, 45- 64 75%) compared to younger before the pandemic (26-44 ≥65 53 48 38 53 49 50 76%, 18-25 73%) and currently (26-44 64%, 18-25 58%). There were no differences between gender. All ages 42 42 42 47 46 43 The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 24
Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Unsure Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied PRE-COVID 35 47 6 9 3 CURRENTLY 26 46 9 13 5 Figure 4. Pre-COVID-19 (n=2355) and current (n=2273) satisfaction: life satisfaction, percentage (%) Concerns for the future The pandemic has negatively impacted Life satisfaction ranked 5th as an area of concern for the my mental health future with 32% of respondents selecting this indicator (n=2239). With weighting, life satisfaction moved to 3rd. Under half (44%) of respondents (n=2124) agreed the pandemic had negatively impacted their mental health, while Northern Tasmanians were more likely to be concerned the same percentage (44%) disagreed that their mental about life satisfaction (Regional North 37%, Launceston health was impacted. 12% were unsure. 35%, North West and West 34%) compared to the South (Greater Hobart 32%, Regional South 25%). Qualitative data Older respondents were more concerned about life Allusions to life satisfaction were embedded in most satisfaction (≥65 45%, 45-64 30%) compared with younger responses in the text-box responses. Some responses more (18-25 26%, 26-44 25%). Males were more concerned clearly articulated respondents’ sense of life-satisfaction, (40%) than females (29%). such as the quotes below. Respondents who were 65 years and above and from Greater Hobart were most likely to select life satisfaction as “I am more aware of pre-existing loneliness and a concern for the future (48%). 18-25 years from Regional North were the least likely (0%). health problems with less chance to do anything about either. I am also constrained, as a non-driver Table 15. Respondents who selected life satisfaction as an area and without friends or Tasmania-based family, from of concern for their future by region and age, percentage (%) accessing other parts of the state, including natural and cultural sites.” (Female, 78, North) Greater Regional Launce- Regional NW and All Age Hobart South ston North West regions 18-25 25 27 38 0 17 26 “The pandemic has taken pressure off in a lot of ways. People seem more conscious of mental 26-44 25 16 23 27 31 25 health. People are more accepting of the need for 45-64 30 16 42 35 30 30 time out and more rest. At the same time, the pandemic has left me feeling less satisfied with ≥65 48 45 35 47 42 45 how I feel about the future. The uncertainty is very All ages 32 25 35 37 34 32 destabilising.” (Female, 36, North) Thinking ahead 3 years, compared to Many participants, when asked about their life satisfaction, reported that their life had stayed very much the same. Some, now, how do you think your life in however, were quite explicit about their life being either general will be? satisfying or unsatisfying. Just under half (46%) of respondents (n=2204) indicated they thought their life would be about the same in three “My overall life satisfaction is unsatisfying.” years, one third (34%) selected somewhat or a lot better, (Female, 45, South) and less than one quarter (20%) selected somewhat or a lot worse. The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 25
“Identify the unexpected positives that have come out of 2020, and build on them. For example: - people spending more time at home, and doing things like gardening that improve wellbeing - people connecting more to their local area, and local tourism.” (Female, 36, South) . Life Satisfaction: Importance for wellbeing Life Satisfaction: Concern for the future Life Satisfaction: Satisfaction pre-COVID-19 Life Satisfaction: Satisfaction now The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 26
Under 30s INTERVIEWS A good life is... Photo: Osborne Images “I'd like to have financial security. I don't need to be “I think a good life is having work that you can be obscenely wealthy, but I'd just like to have a little satisfied with. Not necessarily always enjoy … But a house that I'm comfortable with that I own, that I can job that you can come home at the end of the day put pictures I like on the wall and have a dog. I'm not and be satisfied with what you've done … work that stressed about losing it, but that maybe I only work you can be satisfied with the time, energy and money, four days a week, so I have time to do the things I I guess, to go out and do a bit of things with your need to do for me and enjoy that wealth I've created friends, even if it's, you know, going to a restaurant for myself … A good life is ecologically sustainable … once every now and again or just something some A good lifestyle is connected … a good life for me is leisure activity. And, you know, the sort of safety and moderation of all the good things, giving and taking. health of my family. That's a good life for me.” Balance.” (Female, 30, South) (Female, 21, South) "Just being happy and healthy. Health's definitely a big “A good life to me [personally is] happiness contributor to being happy. I think a lot of people do and good health, but, I mean, I'm in a fairly take our health for granted … I think that would make privileged position, so a good life for me would mean you happy in the long run if you've got good food and that everyone has equity for opportunities … people happy environment and you're happy with your work have aspirational goals of having houses, being rich, and employment is definitely a big thing too." (Female, having a really great job, but imagine if we all had one 25, North-West) percent less of our wealth [and that meant] other people could also realistically achieve those goals, "A comfortable living situation. So, kind of housing, too … Yeah - equity for other people as a job [and] time to be able to focus on family and well.” (Female, 30, South) that kind of thing. So those would be the core things. And I think - I guess in general and specific to “Yeah, just a balanced life. Yeah. Me and Tasmania is being able to keep your connection with my community and the people around me feel safe nature. That's something very important in Tasmania and able to feel safe and connected and feel able to and so I'd love for that to continue to be to be a focus sort of engage in the things that are meaningful to and something that's very accessible to them.” (Female, 26, South) people." (Male, 22, South) The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 27
Image caption and Photo: NameSurname Photo: Stu Gibson Environment Environment ranked 3rd in importance for wellbeing and 3rd in concern for the future; satisfaction with environment decreased by 4 percentage points during the pandemic. Importance Environment ranked 3rd in importance for wellbeing (38% selected this, n=2527), falling to 5th with data weighting. A higher proportion of residents from regional areas of Tasmania prioritised the environment (Regional South 41%, Regional North 38%), compared to urban (Greater Hobart 38%, Launceston 38%) and rural areas (North West and A higher proportion of residents from West 33%). regional areas of Tasmania prioritised the environment, compared to urban Older respondents selected environment (≥65 42%, 45-64 39%) over younger respondents (26-44 years 32%, 18-25 and rural areas. years 30%). Females were more likely to select environment (38%) than males (35%). Those aged 18-25 from Regional North (50%) were most likely to select environment as important for their wellbeing, while 26-44 years from North West and West were least likely (20%). Satisfaction 84% of respondents were very or somewhat satisfied with Table 16. Respondents who selected environment as important environment pre-COVID-19 (n=2347), and 80% were very or for their wellbeing by region and age, percentage (%) somewhat satisfied at the time of the survey (n=2259). Greater Hobart residents were the most satisfied with Greater Regional Launce Regional NW and All environment pre-COVID-19 (86%), followed by North West and Age Hobart South -ston North West regions West (84%), Launceston (83%), Regional North (81%) and Regional South (80%). North West and West were the most 18-25 27 36 38 50 44 30 satisfied currently (84%), then Greater Hobart and Regional 26-44 34 35 33 33 20 32 North (80%), and Regional South and Launceston (77%). 45-64 39 39 39 44 36 39 26-44 year olds were the most satisfied pre-COVID-19 (86%), followed by 18-25 (85%), ≥65 (84%) and 45-64 (83%). ≥65 48 48 40 30 34 42 Currently, 26-44 year olds were the most satisfied with environment (82%), followed by ≥65 (81%), 45-64 (80%) and All ages 38 41 38 38 33 37 18-25 (77%). There were no differences between gender. The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 28
Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Unsure Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied PRE-COVID 44 40 5 8 3 CURRENTLY 37 43 6 9 5 Figure 5. Pre-COVID (n=2347) and current (n=2259) satisfaction: environment, percentage (%) Concerns for the future Importance of Tasmania's natural Environment ranked 3rd as an area of concern for the future environment: weighted (36% selected this, n=2239), moving to 5th with data The following tables provide an example of how weighting weighting. the sample data can impact results. While responses to Participants from Regional South (40%) and Greater Hobart these ‘natural environment’ questions remain at the very (37%) were the most concerned, followed by Regional North important and important end of the scale, there is (37%), Launceston (33%) and North West and West (30%). some difference in the emphasis placed upon responses in the weighted and unweighted data. Older respondents were more concerned about the environment (≥65 42%, 45-64 39%) than younger Table 18. Importance of Tasmania’s natural environment for respondents (26-44 28%, 18-25 25%). Females (37%) were own recreation, leisure and wellbeing more likely to be concerned about the environment than males (33%). Unweighted (%) Weighted (%) Difference Those aged 65 and over from Greater Hobart (49%) were the most concerned about the environment for the future, Very important 64.8 58.0 -6.8 while 18-25 years from Regional South were the least concerned (9%). Somewhat 18.0 23.8 5.8 important Table 17. Respondents who selected environment as an area of Unsure 0.9 0.6 1.5 concern for their future by region and age, percentage (%) Somewhat 1.8 2.4 0.6 unimportant Greater Regional Launce Regional NW and All Age Very unimportant 0.6 0.1 Hobart South -ston North West regions 0.7 18-25 24 9 25 25 44 25 Missing 14.0 13.5 -0.5 26-44 33 32 19 13 18 28 Table 19. Importance of Tasmania’s natural environment to 45-64 40 40 37 48 32 39 Tasmania’s brand and economic advantage ≥65 49 48 45 30 29 42 All ages 37 40 33 37 30 36 Unweighted (%) Weighted (%) Difference Very important 54.8 52.3 -2.5 Importance of Tasmania's natural Somewhat 20.2 2.3 important 22.5 environment Unsure 5.1 5.5 0.4 Respondents considered Tasmania’s natural environment to Somewhat be most important for their own recreation, leisure and 3.8 3.1 -0.7 unimportant wellbeing (n=2179, 96% important, 1% unsure, 3% Very unimportant 1.9 2.5 0.6 unimportant), followed by the global environment (n=2173, 92% important, 4% unsure, 4% unimportant) and Tasmania's Missing 14.2 14.2 0 brand and economic advantage (n=2173, 87% important, 6% unsure, 7% unimportant). The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 29
the environment and the need for the government and the Table 20. Importance of Tasmania’s natural environment for the Tasmanian community to take the climate crisis seriously. global environment Action measures included rolling out state-wide electric vehicle charging stations, installing solar panels, growing food, Unweighted (%) Weighted (%) Difference fundraising for climate activism, purchasing electric vehicles and/or bicycles, doing environmental remediation work and Very important 63.6 56.3 -7.3 weed elimination. Some respondents voiced their concern that the pandemic was hindering action on climate change and Somewhat 15.4 19.9 4.5 environmental protection, with many expressing concern that important attention and funds being diverted from bushfire reduction Unsure 3.4 4.8 1.4 measures and responses to climate change. Somewhat 2.3 2.6 0.3 “And it was great for carbon emissions! Post- unimportant Very unimportant 1.1 2.0 0.9 lockdown, my employer is still letting us work one day a week from home, which I really appreciate-- but I Missing 14.2 14.4 0.2 can feel myself slipping backwards. And I am so discouraged that the pandemic appears to have The main difference (stronger for ‘recreation’ and ‘global completely overwhelmed the issue of climate change, environment’) is the shift from the ‘very important’ to which is not going away.” (Female, 59, South) ‘important’ response category when PESRAC data are weighted. While the environment remains extremely “Please take more care with our environment for important for the vast majority of Tasmanians, somewhat future generations.” (Male, 53, North) fewer believe the environment is ‘very important’ when the data are weighted. “Plan for a low emissions environment, promote electric vehicles and their infrastructure, stop logging Qualitative data old growth forests, get FSC FFS. Kill pokies in pubs. Climate-related comments featured heavily throughout the Build electric buses in Tassie, make the government text-box responses in this survey, with environmental issues fleet electric. Shine a light on donations to political and concerns playing a key role in respondents’ perception of life satisfaction and concern for the future. These parties, act ethically.” (Male, 64, South) concerns were at an individual, state and global scale. Some “Face up to the climate crisis, make environmental participants responded to their individual experience of the environment and how important this was for their sense of protection & rehabilitation & biodiversity first priority, wellbeing, as articulated in the following case: wind back human population and consumption. Well, that’s actually three things - but they are all linked.” “I feel more satisfied with the quality and access to (Male, 69, North-West) the natural environment, and importantly, my There were also responses that touched on the natural appreciation of how lucky we are in Tasmania that environment in terms of quality and access. all of us, regardless of our social status can readily access natural areas for our mental and physical “My access to the environment has mattered to me well-being.” (Female, 53, South) more because I want to walk and ride my bike in the local area and we have limited access due to shortage Others focused on Tasmania’s environment as a valuable resource in and of itself: of safe foot paths and bikeways.” (Female, 66, Kingborough) “Fully protect Tasmania's natural heritage - wilderness and other wild places - and protect “I feel more satisfied with the quality and access to the public access to them all. Take meaningful and natural environment, and importantly, my appreciation urgent action to reduce Tasmania's carbon of how lucky we are in Tasmania that all of us, emissions and promote and support more regardless of our social status can readily access renewable energy (solar, wind). Roll out state-wide natural areas for our mental and physical well-being”. EV charging stations, expand public transport (Female, 53, Glenorchy) (electric powered).” (Unspecified gender, 54, “I am more aware of the importance access to nature South) (especially with my dog...) has on my daily life. Access Many respondents reported concern about climate change, to parks that are close to CBDs, access to water, emissions reductions, carbon reduction, and carbon natural and free space rather than constructed and sequestration. These concerns were voiced in the first text- designed for specific purposes. I have also noticed box response relating to life satisfaction, and in areas where I can walk or cycle with my obedient dog recommendations for the government. There was a strong focus on collective climate action, the long-term future of unleashed are not that many and variety is important when we are restricted in movement (car availability/ confinement, etc)” (unspecified) The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 30
“The economic recovery needs to be based on environmental sustainability without compromise.” (Male, 69, North-West) Environment: Importance for wellbeing Environment: Concern for the future Environment: Satisfaction pre-COVID-19 Environment: Satisfaction now The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 31
Under 30s INTERVIEWS Environment Photo: University of Tasmania “I love Tasmania because of the nature that is here. "I like a lot of things living in Tasmania … you So you can be in the city centre and drive 10 minutes can never be more than half an hour away from and be in the jungle feel of Mount Wellington, or I a bushland area. And I like living in that kind think Tasmania is kind of world renowned for its of environment … I think the most beautiful place hiking and I love hiking … I think every Tasmanian that I would love to go every month would be Maria has a bit of pride, pride that, like, you know, Island. It is a secluded area. It's like the true get away Southwest National Park is really protected and we … [I also like] how people are really looking toward have a massive chunk of our land that [saved] for a sustainable living … when I start[ed] trying to nature … I think there's a unique landscape here and live sustainably and recycle everything I started hiring there's a real sense of wonder … we have we have a garden plot in South Hobart. There's a we have everything. We've got beaches. We've got community garden there and I have a compost bin … mountains. We've got valleys. You do have that I want to take part in the climate change [and] take temperate jungle feel. We do have that kind of bushy care of the environment. And, I just I couldn't see grassy feel. Yeah, I think that's just a real sense of anywhere else better to do it than in the varied, varied things you can do that make it Tasmania." (Male, 25, South) exciting.” (Female, 24, South) "I love the environment. It's a beautiful, beautiful place. I think one of the most beautiful in the world. We're so lucky to have so much on our doorstep, that I can live - like, there's very few places in the world where I could live or grow up 20 minutes from a capital city in the middle of the bush in a place that didn't have cell reception. Like, that, that's - it's such an amazing place." (Male, 23, South) The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 32
Image caption and Photo: NameSurname Community Photo: Claudine Van Massenhove / Shutterstock.com Community ranked 4th in importance for wellbeing and 8th in concern for the future; satisfaction decreased by 9 percentage points during the pandemic. Importance Community was the 4th most popular response when respondents were asked what indicators were most important for their wellbeing, with 31% selecting community (n=2527). This ranking did not change with weighting. Urban residents placed greater importance on community (Launceston 36%, Greater Hobart 33%) than regional (Regional South 30%, Regional North 31%) and rural (North West and West 29%). The oldest respondents in the sample prioritised community (65 or over), The oldest respondents in the sample prioritised community (≥65 40%), followed by 26-44 (32%), 45-64 (28%) and 18-25 followed by 26-44, 45-64 and 18-25 year olds (27%). Females were more likely to select year olds. community as important for their wellbeing (33%), compared with males (27%). Participants aged 65 or over from Launceston were the most Satisfaction likely to choose community (54%), while 18-25 years from 84% of participants were very or somewhat satisfied with their Regional North were the least likely (0%). community before the pandemic (n=2347), while only 75% were very or somewhat satisfied at the time of the survey (a decrease of 9 percentage points, n=2259). Table 21. Respondents who selected community as important for their wellbeing by region and age, percentage (%) Regional North residents were the most satisfied with their community before the pandemic (87%), followed by North West and West (86%), Greater Hobart (85%), Regional South (82%) Greater Regional Launce- Regional NW and All and Launceston (79%). Participants from North West and West Age Hobart South ston North West regions and Regional South were the most satisfied currently (78%), 18-25 28 27 38 0 11 27 followed by Greater Hobart (76%), Regional North (75%) and Launceston (71%). 26-44 34 16 19 43 40 32 Older participants were the most satisfied pre-COVID-19 (≥65 45-64 30 28 33 25 22 28 90%), followed by 45-64 (84%), 18-25 (81%) and 26-44 (80%). Although satisfaction declined, those aged 65 years and above ≥65 40 41 54 37 37 40 were still the most satisfied (82%), followed by 45-64 (77%), 26- 44 (70%) and 18-25 (65%). All ages 33 30 36 31 29 32 Females were more satisfied with their community pre-COVID- 19 (86%) and currently (78%) compared with males (82%, 73%). The Tasmania Project – Share your experience during COVID-19 33
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